Japanese symbol for “diminutive”
矮小
わいしょう
Romaji: waishou
diminutive; dwarfish; pygmy; stunted
In Japanese, diminutive is 矮小, read わいしょう (waishou).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- adj-na, n diminutive; dwarfish; pygmy; stunted; undersized
- adj-na, n narrow (e.g. thinking); small
Written forms: 矮小、わい小. Readings: わいしょう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “diminutive”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 指小辞 | ししょうじ shishouji | diminutive |
| 美小辞 | びしょうじ bishouji | diminutive |
| 矮性 | わいせい waisei | dwarf; stunted; diminutive |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 矮星 | わいせい waisei | dwarf star |
| 矮性 | わいせい waisei | dwarfism |
| 矮躯 | わいく waiku | small stature |
| 矮鶏 | チャボ chabo | (Japanese) bantam |
| 矮人 | わいじん waijin | dwarf |
| 小説 | しょうせつ shousetsu | novel; story; (work of) fiction |
| 小学校 | しょうがっこう shougakkou | primary school; elementary school; grade school |
| 小学生 | しょうがくせい shougakusei | elementary school student; primary school student; grade school student |
See also: Chinese symbol for “diminutive”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.